


Battle Against a Hero

by FilmFreak94



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-27
Updated: 2016-01-27
Packaged: 2018-05-16 12:26:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5828914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FilmFreak94/pseuds/FilmFreak94
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A decisive "battle" between a king and a hotheaded fish.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Battle Against a Hero

It was another beautiful day in the Underground. Or at least he assumed it was day, it was hard to tell when you were this far down. The Ruins had the only place where any light from the outside shone through but they had been sealed away from the inside for centuries. Whenever he walked along the darkened pathways of Waterfall he always fancied it as night, even though the dark roofs of the caverns persisted no matter where you were. In Hotland he always imagined it as daytime and in Snowdin it depended on who was out and about.

For now he fancied it nighttime, as he was walking among the Echo Flowers of Waterfall, with the soft hum of falling water ever in the distance. A stark contrast with the sound of a dozen screaming children back in Snowdin. He had gone on a surprise trip to the school there to pay a visit to all the children, as he did when the mood struck him (which was more often than he’d care to admit). For a good hour they had all been on him, climbing on his back, tugging on his cloak, trying to swing on his arms as though he were one of the topiary statues he’d made of himself back at New Home. Despite the ringing in his ear and the drool that stained his clothes, he loved it. Children always calmed him, brought out the best in him. Even if they reminded him of a once bright age gone sour.

He stopped every so often to listen to the whispers in the Echo Flowers. Monsters from all across the Underground loved to reveal their deepest secrets and desires to these unassuming and nonjudgmental flowers. It was second nature to him to speak so openly to plants, the flowers in his personal garden may as well have been his confidants, but he never whispered in any of the flowers in Waterfall. Preferring to hear what his subjects had to say instead.

“I want some new socks.” He heard from a flower he passed. “I want a little brother I can walk around.” Said another. On he went and on he listened to more flowers. It filled him with determination to think of all these wishes, and what’s more to think of how he could fulfill them. There were plenty of socks back at New Home, he could find some no sweat. The brother thing would be a little more difficult but perhaps he could try his best to bake a pie for that monster’s parents and try to get them in a special mood for brother making. He had plenty of leftover recipes for pies back at New Home. If only he had been more good at making them. Or even a fraction of how good she was…

He listend to more flowers and thought of more solutions to the problems each anonymous monster had. “I want an autograph from Mettaton,” “I want one of those cool cellphones with keychains on them,” “send tem to colleg,” “I wish Asgore would hurry up and get all the souls already.”

This last one struck a chord in him, and now his grim purpose that every day he tried to forget had crept back into the forefront of his mind. It was not exactly his purpose, not a predestined one anyway. He had put it upon himself to find seven souls from seven humans in order to break through the barrier and begin war with the humans anew. It seemed only yesterday he had made that proclamation. Only yesterday how much his rage fueled every decision he made. It had seemed so easy to keep that promise. It had made him so happy to see his citizens filled with hope again.

If only the humans he had encountered were not predominantly children.

He took on a sullen mood for the rest of his walk, avoiding the Echo Flowers as he made his way back to Hotland. He didn’t even stop to grab an umbrella to keep dry from the water pouring down somewhere above. Not a single inch of him was dry as he went on his way, his castle off in the distance, where everything that reminded him of how much he hated himself remained.

He was so lost in thought that he did not notice he had taken a wrong turn and ended up at a dead end. Where only one solitary Echo Flower stood, next to a few long blades of grass. He was about to double back when curiosity filled him once more. What sort of secret could this one Echo Flower hold, so far away from its kin? He bit his lip as he looked around, not sure why he expected anyone to show up, or who would think less of him for doing something all monsters did. He waited, but nobody came.

So he went, up to the Echo Flower until he was standing right in front of it. Kneeling down he held his hand to his long ear and listened to the secret the Echo Flower held.

“BEHIND YOU!”

His ear rang again and he felt a ping in his back, accompanied by a very violent scream. He spun around, magic at the ready, to see who had tried to sneak attack him. And there in front of him he came face to face with his new adversary. A little kid.

“STAND AND FIGHT!” The kid yelled. He raised an eyebrow as he looked around again. The blades of grass were parted, she must have been hiding in them. Waiting for someone to come along and fight.

“Who are you little child?” He asked, his voice low and calm even as she aimed her spear at his head.

“I’M NOT A CHLID!” Her voice the polar opposite of his, “I AM UNDYNE THE UNDYING! AND I WILL BEAT YOU!!!” She thrust the spear forward. He dodged each blow with little effort, his face never losing its bright smile.

“Undyne, you say?” He was on his feet, still dodging each thrust from Undyne’s spear. “Well my name is Asgore, it’s good to meet you.”

“I know who you are!” Undyne said during a brief respite from thrusting. “I’ve been watching you!”

“Oh?” Asgore bent down a bit so that he wasn’t towering over her, “For how long?”

“Ever since you left Snowdin!” The girl said with a huge smile that exposed all her teeth. They were sharp, sharper than the dull blade she had tied at the end of that stick. Her skin was blue, rife with scales, and her red hair was wild and untamed as it hung over her yellow eyes. “I’ve been watching you eavesdrop on all those Echo Flowers so I decided to set up a trap for you over here!”

“Well, it’s a very nice trap.” Asgore complimented her.

“Don’t patronize me!” Her spear was at the ready again.

“No, I mean it. I really didn’t see it coming.”

“Damn right you didn’t!” He winced a little at this. Children shouldn’t stain their lips with such foul language but it was not for him to chastise her on matters like that. He would have to tell her parents about it, but not before the girl began thrusting her spear at him again. “NOW FIGHT!”

“But why do you want to fight? We only just met.”

“I don’t need a reason to fight! JUST FIGHT ME!” Asgore continued to dodge as Undyne continued to fight. The king never once struck a blow against the child, never even feigned one of his lesser spells on her. Although it could not be said, and he could not convince himself otherwise, that he could never hurt a child. It pained him to think of that as the girl relentlessly “fought” with him. Or perhaps more appropriately as she fought with the air.

“BAH!” She spat. “I don’t need this spear!” She threw it to the ground and raised her fists. “I’m faster with my fists! HYA!!!” He had to admit she was faster now, if only by a fraction of a second. It was still not enough to land a direct hit on him as he dodged every blow with every strange noise she made.

“HYA! HMP! HO! HAAAA! CHAZANG! BIP! BAP! HYAAAAA! HU!” He could see sweat fall from her brow the more she tried to hit him and he wondered if it would be best if he stopped her now before she exhausted herself. She did, eventually, but not for a long time afterwards. For what felt like hours Undyne persisted, her fierce battle growing more and more rapid as she fought. Asgore remained stoic and full of energy, even as the girl’s blows became noticeably slower, her breath more pained, and her eyes droopy from exhaustion.

“Huh, huh, huh, huh…” She panted. Eventually her fists unfolded until all she could attack him with were her bare palms. He barely even had to dodge her attempted slaps. Finally when it seemed like an entire day had passed, Undyne stopped. Her arms rested on her knees as she caught her breath, her eyes closed as she sniffed her nose. He recognized that sniff. It was the sniff any child sniffed when they were trying to stop themselves from crying.

“Peh!” She glared up at him. “Forget it! You just don’t wanna fight fair that’s all! I’m still the toughest do you HEAR ME!!!” Her shout echoed throughout the cavern, a few flowers echoing it back to her. “I’m still the toughest…” She whispered to herself.

“I’m sorry…” He said. She hid her face from him but Asgore could see the first few trickles falling from her eyes. He frowned, trying to hold back a few tears himself. It was impossible for him to be around people who were crying. Because once they started crying, he started crying, and it became a mess of him trying to console them as much as trying to console himself.

He was able to keep himself together as well as Undyne, who brushed at her eyes with her entire arm angrily. She was about to make her way back to Snowdin when the solution came to him.

“Excuse me, do you want to know how to beat me?” Undyne stopped and sniffed again. She turned her head to look back at him and gave a slow nod. The king smiled.

“Let me walk you home.”

 

“Is that a fact?” Undyne shook her head so fast it appeared as a blur.

“All the kids at school hate me!” Undyne’s lips pursed into a pout that could give his wife a run for her money.

“I’m sure they don’t _hate_ you.”

“Yes they do!” Undyne shouted so loud she could be heard even as they passed one of the many waterfalls. “They all laugh at me when I’m out in the playground freezing my butt off! They think it’s funny I was born without any fur and I have to wear all those stupid jackets! They like to call me names behind my back and snicker at me when they think I’m not paying attention!”

“Well that’s not very nice of them.” Asgore said, already preparing a well thought out speech to the children the next time he visited them.

“Yeah! So I beat ‘em up!”

“That’s not very nice either.”

“Tch!” She rolled her eyes. “You adults can say that. But I’ve made a name for myself! Nobody laughs at my face or dares to call me names anymore! They used to try and get some of the bigger kids to try and beat me up but I pounded them all! I’m the freaking queen of the playground and nobody can get the jump on me!”

“That must be very lonely.” Undyne’s proud expression fell as she craned her neck to look at the king.

“What?”

“You must not have many friends if you make them all fear you.” Undyne opened her mouth to make a rebuttal but couldn’t think of anything to say against this. She avoided his gaze again, even as he smiled down at her.

“Well,” he stopped just before they reached the entrance to Snowdin. “I’d like to be the first.” The girl furrowed her brow as she stared at him.

“What?” Asgore knelt so that his eyes were level with hers.

“I would like to be your friend, Undyne the Undying.” Undyne recoiled as he stretched out his hand. She continued to stare at the king, expecting something sinister to come out of his enormous hand. But all the king did was smile. It was a big smile, bigger, it seemed, than even his hand. Undyne looked at hers and with some hesitation gave it to Asgore.

They shook hands briefly and Undyne couldn’t help but gasp at how easily her hand got lost in his. His white fur engulfing it as it warmed every bit of her, from her knuckles to her wrist. She couldn’t fight back a smile as another tear fell from her left eye. With his free hand Asgore placed his index finger just under her eye and caught the tear before it could cause her any more embarrassment. He brought the finger to his pocket and patted it with satisfaction.

“Come along now.” Their hands were still locked together as they made their way through Snowdin. Undyne began to shiver as the bitter cold met her skin. She tried to hide it but Asgore could feel each little shake. He stretched out a bit of his cloak and beckoned her to take shelter inside it. It was the warmest she had ever felt.

 Asgore knocked on the door to the orphanage and the caretaker was shocked to see the king standing on her doorway, with Undyne still wrapped tightly in his cloak.

“Your majesty!” They bowed. Asgore chuckled and bid them to stand, explaining the situation with a little bit of a twist.

“This young lady got lost in Waterfall.” He lied, much to Undyne’s own surprise. “I offered to help her find her way.”

“Oh thank you your majesty. Undyne! Come here!” It was amazing how quickly the caretaker’s tone changed when talking to them both. “I’m so sorry, she’s always causing trouble.”

“It’s quite alright. In fact, I was wondering perhaps if you would allow her to come over to New Home every once in a while.” The look on the caretaker’s face was only rivaled by Undyne’s.

“You… want her to come to… the castle?”

“You all can come.” He added. “The entire orphanage if you like. There’s plenty of room for everyone to visit and to spare.”

“Well… thank you your majesty, that’s very generous but… may I ask why?” Asgore looked at the girl as he answered.

“I promised Undyne I’d teach her how to beat me.” He gave her a wink and a flush of red fell on Undyne’s face as her wild hair stood on edge.


End file.
